Cigar medics humid meter

[unclepauly25]

I just came across this gadget that measures the humidity of your cigar, I was wondering if anyone has had experience using it and if it’s worth purchasing one. Also if anyone has one what is the perfect humidity to smoke a cigar after dry boxing? 

[StogieSteve23]

2 hours ago, unclepauly25 said:

I just came across this gadget that measures the humidity of your cigar, I was wondering if anyone has had experience using it and if it’s worth purchasing one. Also if anyone has one what is the perfect humidity to smoke a cigar after dry boxing? 

I don’t have any experience with this product but proper relative humidity is more or less up to the smoker. I think most people want their CC’s on the lower end of the humidity spectrum (60-65%), to maximize combustion and flavor profiles in the cigar, no matter what the circumstance. IMHO that is. 

[barry12321]

I bought this but to be honest I am uncertain about its accuracy.  I tested it on a box of Illusione Epernay L'Alpinste that I bought in 2017.  I keep my humidor at 65/65, give or take, and the box has been sitting in there since purchased. Tested 3 cigars... reading came out 68, 59, 43.  I smoked the 68 and 43, and they tasted similar to me, consistent with the Epernay flavors that I normally enjoy .  I am far from an expert (and generally not picky) but this experiment casted some doubt in my head regarding the reliability of this product.

[BDSpiritual1]

It's funny that I came across this thread because I just experienced the same thing!

I do not understand much about how cigars store humidity but I do recall reading a few articles here that spoke of how different temperatures affect the amount of humidity that the cigar absorbs. So, that's how I stumbled across this!

Nonetheless, my HumidiMeter just arrived today and I was excited to see how it worked. I took out a cigar that was stored at about 65%RH / 65f for about a year, plugged the meter into the foot and it started at 65% then dropped to about 58%. Confused, I tried another one and it was balanced around 57-58%. So, still confused, I took out a non-Cuban which was stored around 69%RH and 65f for the last year and it balanced around 60%. I figured, this tool must be calibrated wrong.

Then, something in me said check the cap of the cigar like you've seen in pictures since it's closed! So, I plugged it into the cap and it read 68%. I checked another non-Cuban and it balanced between 66-69%. Based on that observations, it seems that the cap was closer to the humidor's RH than the foot was.

I'm not sure if aging a cigar for a number of years helps balance that out which is why aged cigars smoke so much better but I thought it was an interesting discovery nonetheless. 

I did also notice on the packaging it says "HumidiMeter calculates relative humidity based on 70 degree Fahrenheit" so maybe that alters the reading as well. Nonetheless, when I get the calibration standard tool to make sure it's reading properlu, I will continue to test and see!

It'll be interested to test before dry boxing and after dry boxing as well as how cigars smoke at various readings.

[Smokecigareveryday]

I don't think it's worth purchasing. There are only two essential items you need: Perfect Draw and 65 percent boveda packs. 

 

On 4/12/2020 at 5:25 PM, unclepauly25 said:

I just came across this gadget that measures the humidity of your cigar, I was wondering if anyone has had experience using it and if it’s worth purchasing one. Also if anyone has one what is the perfect humidity to smoke a cigar after dry boxing? 

This device will give me a lot of headache.  What should I do if the cigar measures over 70 percent when I am about to smoke?  Should I pick a new one since I like my cigar at 65?  Headache

[BDSpiritual1]

To me, it's more about seeing what the "reading" is when you smoke and understanding if there is a difference between different readings.  

In all honesty, I'm not sure how accurate it is especially when it comes to dry boxing. 

[Rhinoww]

So I received one as a gift and have been playing w it for a few days. Fun toy. Agree w what has been said above that the readings at the foot tend to be lower, likely due to the open air impacting the reading. I also wonder if smaller rug trend lower on the open end. 
 

the cap has been more consistent. Of course I only will put the prongs in before I smoke or put aside to smoke soon. Don’t want to get freaked out later about beetles. 
 

it is helpful to get an idea of condition of you packages when they arrive, as a low reading would certainly make me wait to smoke one ROTT much like a really high reading might. 
 

it will take some time but over the course of several months I should get an idea of the reading I should be looking for in the open end. Call it an adjustment factor.  Call it a personal calibration. But I’ll figure out the range that it reads when sticks come out of 65/68deg storage. I am also tinkering w a large 62rh boveda in one of my humidors so perhaps some charting from the coolidor at 65 might be interesting. 
 

for me it’s another reference point to help identify when cigars smoke best for me. Worth my time for sure.